Editors

Incubus and Succubus

The Incubus has been around since the early days of story telling. In Gilgamesh written about 2400 B.C, his father was Lilu who was supposed to seduce women in their sleep.

Incubus from the Latin “to lie upon” is considered to be a demon who has intercourse with women in order to father a child such as in the legend of Merlin. It is said that repeated intercourse with an incubus may result in deterioration of health and even death.

Same goes for the Succubus, the female version of the incubus. Oddly enough Succubus means “to lie under” in Latin. This demon takes the form of a woman who seduces men in their dreams. Rumor has it that Lilith, Adam’s first wife, became a succubus after mating with archangel Samael. I guess that’s one reason to get a divorce, but then again I didn’t even know Adam was married.

Traditionally demons were thought to be incapable of reproduction, but the incubi and succubi seem to be able to do it by working together. The Succubus collects semen from the men she seduces, then somehow gives that to the incubus who then impregnates human females with it. In some myths the Incubus can change into a Succubus, which kinda gives me the creeps.

Cambions, the demon offspring, were said to be born deformed or more susceptible to supernatural influences. But it was never explained why, if the women were impregnated with human semen the children were deformed.

Stories of encounters with succubi and incubi bear a resemblance to our modern accounts of alien abductions which, in turn, has been ascribed to the condition known as sleep paralysis.

What if these stories of sexual demons were introduced to explain erotic dreams, genetic deformities, physical conditions that were mysterious and frightening? Or even a way to cope with our innate human sexuality. It certainly has nothing to do with how men have been known to take advantage of women or how women can suck the life out of men.

Brad M Bucklin

Brad M. Bucklin received a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Theatre from Windham College where he studied with John Irving. After moving to Los Angeles at 25, he worked as an actor for a number of years on such shows as “One Day At A Time,” “Days of Our Lives” “Picket Fences” and in films that included “World War III,” “Wavelength” “No Place to Hide” and more. Brad was a Partner at the Empty Stage Theatre, where he co-wrote and produced the play “Three,” featuring Felicia Day and turned into the hilarious screenplay “Sex and the Modern Marriage.” His plays “Remember Me,”"Abide," and more have all been produced in Los Angeles area. He directed the original one act “Twins” (featuring Kristin Wigg) for the Award Winning Can Festival. His play “Mrs. Christmas” was recently made into an Award Winning short film directed by Kristian Gabriel. He was Production Manager on the documentary “Supporting Actors,” and wrote, Produced and Directed the short film “Remember Marci.” Currently he is working on a Documentary about Improv that includes many performers such as Lisa Kudrow and Cynthia Stevenson. Brad has partnered with Kristian Gabriel to create Professional Filmmaking Alliance, and www.crypticplanet.com. www.bradbucklin.com